UK - HSL continues its busy spring 2015 season supplying lighting & visuals designer Max Conwell for Morrissey's touring work.

Without the constraints of management or record company, Morrissey tours and performs prolifically without being tied in to any album cycles and other more conventional commercial considerations.

This means that his touring work has to be cost-efficient and self-supporting. Things like truck size is an important factor, onstage visual elements have to work hard and be multi-purpose and he challenges his technical team to be constantly imaginative and to deliver the best production values.

He takes an active interest in the look, sound and feel of his stage presentation, and has built an honest and heartfelt rapport with a loyal worldwide fanbase.

Since 2014, Max has turned to rental company HSL from Blackburn to supply all his touring lighting, whi

USA - AMD has announced details behind one of the world's largest and most technologically advanced display walls, located in New York's Times Square at 1535 Broadway, between 45th and 46th Streets. The stunning visuals that drive the digital sign's massive size - 25,000sq.ft of ultra-high definition digital signage incorporating nearly 24mpixels - are powered by AMD FirePro professional graphics cards.

The sign, with playback system designed and managed by Diversified Media Group, is a single surface covering a city block in length and stands eight stories high. Driving the visual display are three AMD FirePro professional graphics cards using AMD Eyefinity Technology, with each card powering six sections of the display for a combined resolution of 10,048 x 2,368 pixels. The individual display sections are synchronized across graphics cards and zones using the FirePro™ S40

Azerbaijan - The 2015 European Games will be held in Baku in June, gathering in the Azerbaijan capital city over 6,000 athletes from 50 countries to compete in 30 sports, including 16 Olympic disciplines. Named after the former president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex is one of the four city cluster locations, along with Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Freedom Square and Baku Sports Hall, chosen to house this edition of the games.

Since its opening in 1990, the arena has hosted around 40 international competitions of different kinds of sports. After the 2006 renovation, it became Azerbaijan's home of gymnastics, accommodating a number of major international rhythmic gymnastics tournaments. During the European games the arena will be used for all the judo, sambo and wrestling competitions.

The arena facilities had to be radically reorganized for the European

UK - The Colour Project was commissioned by the City of Liverpool to devise a 30-minute video mapping spectacular as the visual climax to the city's celebrations to mark the historic visit of all three of the largest Liners in the Cunard fleet.

As part of the Cunard Lines 175th birthday celebrations and to punctuate the occasion for the city, The Colour Project created an evening show for over 80,000 visitors over the course of three nights.

Always looking to the future and confident of its past, the essence of Liverpool was boldly brought to life to celebrate the city and its historic links with the Cunard Line. The three iconic buildings along the Pier Head collectively referred to as the Three Graces were transformed into a video mapped canvas to perform The Amazing Graces.

"Featuring a sea of faces of the people that make up the rich cultural heritage of Live

USA - The recent Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao match - billed as "the fight of the century" and bringing in a staggering $410 million in pay-per-view TV revenue alone - saw lighting director Jason Eible bring the contest to life on a new Avolites Sapphire Touch console purchased specifically with this huge event in mind.

Eible is no stranger to this kind of pressure and attention. As the LD for Frank Gatto and Associates out of Boca Raton, Florida, he has spent his entire nearly-20-year career lighting boxing and UFC events. "I have been using Avo as long as I have been doing lighting," Eible says. He points specifically to the Playback feature of the Titan software that runs on Avolites consoles as something that he leans on heavily.

"A boxing match is not just a single event," he notes. "There are other events surrounding it, inc

Belgium / USA - ArKaos PRO will be exhibiting at InfoComm 2015 on the stand of its US distributor AC Lighting Inc (Booth 6171).

ArKaos PRO will present its Kling-Net protocol in conjunction with LEDMaster, its all-in-one solution for easy LED show control. LEDMaster uses Kling-Net to add a layer of intelligence to any LED device by automatically recognising and configuring it to make it ready for mapping. Parameters can be changed at will, visuals imported and live patterns generated. Scenes can be triggered live, automatically, randomly or sequentially. LEDMaster brings sophisticated LED control within the reach of all technical abilities: simply map, programme and playback.

ArKaos PRO will introduce and demonstrate the latest version of its successful professional MediaMaster software which has consistently remained at the forefront of the industry's creative projection and

USA - Zylight, a leading manufacturer of innovative LED lighting solutions, will showcase its product line for professional AV applications at InfoComm 2015, including versions of its F8-100 LED Fresnel and IS3c LED large panel light housed in white fixtures, new F8-B black light and F8-200 Fresnel, and Newz on-camera light. Zylight will be co-located with Ushio America in Booth 6844 during the show, which runs 17-19 June in Orlando, Florida.

"Many churches and corporations haven't adopted professional LED lighting technology because black fixtures don't blend in well with the décor," explained Charlie Collias, Zylight senior VP, worldwide sales. "White lighting fixtures are much more popular for permanent installation. Our new white housings will help houses of worship and other facilities enjoy more reliable lighting with significant power savings."<

Austria - Blackmagic Design reports that all signal distribution at the event areas for this year's Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), hosted at the Wiener Staatshalle in Vienna, Austria, was delivered via an SDI based live production workflow featuring six Blackmagic Design Smart Videohub routers.

The audiovisual (AV) infrastructure for the annual European wide extravaganza, now in its 60th year, was devised by Vienna based live event specialist Concept Solutions and distributed HD video signals to more than 125 monitors and screens throughout the multi-purpose indoor arena.

As well as the main staging hall, where 60 countries competed for the chance to perform in a live two hour televised spectacular, the ESC also had dedicated halls for media, backstage and catering, the judging panel, VIPs and the official ESC delegation. Each was equipped with a multitude of displays and scre

UK - Working with the National Theatre's video supervisor Matthew Morgans, XL Video is supplying a large semi-transparent LED wall for the current production of Everyman at the Olivier Theatre.

The cast of Everyman is led by BAFTA award-winning actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, in this version of a classic 15th Century morality play in a new adaptation by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

The production is directed by Rufus Norris, with video design by Tal Rosner. Everyman will be broadcast live to over 550 cinemas in the UK and many more internationally on 16 July. Final performance of the show is on 30 August 2015.

The giant 9m wide by 8.4m high curved video screen forms the both the backdrop for the play, as well as creating a semi-transparent dividing wall between the main performers and the on-stage musicians.

The screen towers above the cast, supported by custom c

Switzerland/USA - Merging Technologies' Ovation 6 now brings the power of an integrated 3D rendering engine, for use with both replayed sounds and an almost limitless number of live inputs, says the company. The 3D engine now in Ovation is set to "completely change the way AV installers and live events production staff will plan their coming projects".

Ovation consolidated its position in 2014, with an impressive roster of new users relevant to InfoComm attendees. Major new museum installations, live events, theatres, opera houses realised that the combination of reliable and repeatable operation coupled with the ease with which all parameters can be programmed and interfaced with other devices, provided compelling reasons for specifying Ovation.

However, the industry's requirements move ahead at a pace and sound designers were creating ever more realistic soundscape

UK - Marquee AV has announced the appointment of Paul Day as business development manager. Day joined the industry with PRS, progressing his career as regional sales consultant with Bose where he has enjoyed the last seven years. The position of business development manager is an expansion for Marquee AV and Day will work alongside the existing sales team.

"I've known Paul for many years and always admired his professional approach, enthusiasm and good humour," said Marquee AV's MD, Mark Brown. "He's one of those few guys always in the back of your mind as someone it would be good to employ if the opportunity arose. With our expanding business that opportunity became reality and I'm pleased to welcome Paul to Marquee AV. I'm sure he'll fit in well and help us achieve our future goals."

"The opportunity to join a company with the background and pedigree

USA - Medialon will be showcasing its Overture facility-wide AV Management system to the US market at the upcoming InfoComm 2015 in Orlando.

Medialon's Overture was met with critical reception after its international ISE debut in January, resulting in the AV management system being integrated into a multitude of places including a conference center and a theme park.

Available for use in a range of locations including museums, concert venues, and sport stadiums, Overture makes it easy to control company-wide technology using one dynamic, innovative software.

"Overture was designed to be an AV Control System for the IT world. It is built on technologies that IT Managers and CIOs know and trust, and the response from the market has been fantastic," said Eric Cantrell, senior sales manager, Medialon.

Created by seasoned AV veterans for IT departments, Overture elimin

UK - Working with BBC election project and engineering manager, Tony Cahalane and production designer, David Marson, XL Video supplied high resolution LED screens, plus scenic curved LED and Barco screen management systems for BBC Cymru Wales and S4C's coverage of the 2015 General Election.

BBC Cymru Wales broadcast all-night election coverage on BBC1 Wales and the Welsh language channel, S4C, simultaneously from two studio sets at their studios in Llandaff, Cardiff.

Each set consisted of a wide, high-resolution curved LED screen, formed from XL Video's Unilumin 3.9mm LED, and measuring 10m wide by 3m high.

This main screen displayed a combination of playback content, election graphics generated live as results came in, and PiP broadcast footage from reporters around the country.

Surrounding the screen and set, each studio featured nine curved LED banners formed from XL's

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' video division is reporting substantial sales for Green Hippo's all-new line of Hippotizer media servers, which have been completely re-designed to handle the manufacturer's powerful V4 next generation media control software.

Designed to meet the demands of shows today and tomorrow, the new Hippotizer V4 features include 4K+ support, more outputs, Output Manager, STRATA Caddy System, SHAPE 3D projection mapping, visualiser, multiple mixes, and a number of output options, including HD-SDI. The new Hippotizer range features the powerhouse Taiga with four inputs / six outputs; the tour-proof Boreal with four inputs / four outputs; the customisable Karst with two inputs / three outputs; and the compact Amba with two inputs / one output.

The models received much interest upon their unveiling on the AC-ET stand at PLASA London last year - and wh

UK - Shannon Harvey has joined Backstage Academy as course leader on the BA (Hons) Visual Production degree. Harvey previously worked as account manager at d3 Technologies - one of the course's core supporters - and will now be responsible for running the degree and ensuring it delivers against the industry's current skills requirements and technology.

Harvey's experience covers the architectural, theatrical and entertainment industries, working with lighting, video, projection and special effects projects on a wide range of applications.

Said Backstage Academy's Sara Gleadhall, "Shannon Harvey is a huge asset to the course and brings with him a wealth of knowledge on video and lighting system design as well as a unique creative vision which means he is an all-round inspiration for the students.

"Entertainment technology is evolving so rapidly that we need to draw

Belgium - Painting With Light headed by Luc Peumans has crafted the eye-catching design for the current Holiday On Ice touring production, Passion, which highlights some of the dreams, trials, tribulations and dedication required by those pursuing ice skating careers.

Playing to enthusiastic reviews and audiences, it's the first year that Genk based Painting With Light has produced a fully comprehensive creative concept encompassing all the disciplines - lighting, set and video - one of many strengths enabled by Luc and his talented team of associates.

This scenario allowed Luc to maintain a complete visual harmony for the work, and also gave the scope to design several new and bespoke lighting elements including wireless controlled LED soles that clamp to the base of the stakes.

Says Luc, "With Passion being partly autobiographical in relation to t

USA - - At InfoComm 2015, Barco will demonstrate how its industry-leading solutions deliver "dynamic, visual spectaculars and real-time collaboration to drive business success". Emphasizing technologies built for high impact and low total cost of ownership, Barco's projection and image processing, wireless collaboration, LED video wall, video wall and enterprise networking solutions empower companies to connect their worlds, both inside and out, by enhancing connectivity across the enterprise and around the globe, says the company.

In Booth 2529, visitors will interact with a wide array of Barco's solutions designed deliver "a heightened visual and collaboration experience".

Barco corporate solutions unlock the knowledge of an organization by connecting people and information in the most intuitive way. ClickShare empowers content sharing with a click of a b

USA - As LED video wall technology has improved in quality, it's becoming the new standard for displaying video images - in applications ranging from concerts and productions, to nightclubs and sports arenas - thanks to the superior efficiency, reliability and flexibility it offers compared to traditional projection video. Now Chauvet Professional is meeting the rising demand for sharper, more detailed LED video displays with the PVP X3, a modular indoor LED video panel with a high-resolution pixel pitch of 3.9 mm.

In addition to having a tight 3.9 mm pixel pitch, the PVP X3 utilizes SMD 2121 black body Tri-Color (red, green, blue) LEDs to produce the highest in class contrast and exceptional clarity of images. Each panel's 500mm square display surface is densely outfitted with 16,384 LEDs, which emit a standard total illuminance of 1,560 NITS (which can easily be adjusted up to

UK - Conference and events specialist Saville Audio Visual is responding to increasing demands for its AV facilities and staging services in the UK and overseas. At their conference facilities hub in Leeds, the company has invested in extra workspace, new jobs and major additions to its stock of audio, lighting and display technology - already one of the largest in the UK.

Prompted by a record trading year and £40m turnover for 2014, the company has taken on a third building in Leeds, expanding its important Central Resource Unit. The growing CRU team supports Saville's national network of AV hire branches with a large stock of staging and display technology plus a highly skilled team of creative designers and technicians.

The company's confidence in the live events industry is reflected in a significant new commitment to sustainable LED technology, including large forma

Australia - TDC, Technical Direction Company, returned to Vivid Sydney from 22 May to 8 June 2015. With an opening weekend attended by more than a quarter of a million people, TDC provided video expertise in cutting edge mapping techniques and key video technology across an unprecedented 10km distance as the 18-day festival expanded into new Chatswood and Central Park precincts.

Anthony Bastic, Vivid light curator says: "Vivid Sydney placed art into the hands of the public, giving visitors a visually triumphant feast of artistic and technical innovation."

Vivid Sydney is probably the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas and is owned and managed by Destination NSW, the NSW Government's Tourism and Major Events agency.

Michael Hassett, managing director of TDC, said: "We've worked with Destination NSW on Vivid Sydney for four years now, and it is s

UK - Panasonic has announced a long-term corporate partnership with Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), the independent charity which manages six former Royal residences in the UK. The partnership brings Panasonic the opportunity to showcase its latest technologies, while enabling HRP to provide an improved visitor experience for its customers, the manufacturer says.

The first joint initiative saw 12 Panasonic high brightness projectors used as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations at Hampton Court Palace. A 22-minute projected artwork, which told the architectural and cultural history of the palace, played for three nights over the Easter weekend.

Panasonic laser projectors are being used in a new exhibition in the palace, bringing animation to Hampton Court's stories. A total of eight projectors have also been installed within the Tower of London jewel house, helping to inter

UK - Lighting and video now go hand in hand when conceiving a concept for a show, so consoles need to speak easily and fluently with video servers - as MA Lighting have long recognised.

London-based d3 Technologies, creator of the trusted d3 platform, the integrated video production suite, has chosen an MA onPC command wing purely for the purpose of trying and testing new developments in d3. As director Ash Nehru explains: "Although d3 supports control by any of the lighting desks on the market, we opted for the grandMA2 command wing through Ambersphere Solutions for a very simple reason: it is the desk of choice for so many. It's the console that we encounter most frequently on large shows so it just made total sense for us to support it."

Currently d3 are using the grandMA2 command wing to test a new feature. "d3 has historically been a timeline-controlled sys

UK - VER UK has hosted a series of open days to present the latest in available 4K technology, spanning indoor and outdoor high resolution screens as well as the latest products in 4K projection and broadcast technology.

The first two-day showcase was hosted in the modern event facilities of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), for which VER traditionally provides support for RADA's in house productions and has a long-standing association.

A further event was hosted at VER UK's London facility, by the VER Dry Hire team. Scott Russell, Ellie Johnson and Lucy Taylor welcomed UK and European customers to demonstrations of the latest in Video Technology available for hire.

Director of European sales, Adrian Offord, commented, "VER continually strives to be at the forefront of new technology. We look forward to holding these showcase events frequently demonstrating the

Germany - Show designer Gunter Hecker brought a flourish of industrial style to the lighting, video and stage environment that he created for the latest tour by German superstar Herbert Grönemeyer, prolific singer, composer, musician and actor and one of Germany's most successful ever recording artists.

Once again Gunter worked closely with Marc Lorenz as his lighting director and technology integration specialist, and together they brought a unique look and energy to the show with a centerpiece comprising six automated pods containing video screens and a total of 96 Robe Pointes.

These can move on multiple axes into a variety of positions, and completely transform the shape and feel of the performance space.

Gunter and Marc often use Robe products for their work, the last time being earlier in the year, for the 2014/15 tour by rappers Die Fantastischen Vier for which they

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